Indian-American jailed for selling illegal pills, loses citizenship

Washington, April 29 (IANS) A 29-year-old Indian-American was stripped of his US citizenship after being sentenced for more than five years in jail for conspiring to illegally distribute male enhancement pills imported from China.

Ismail Ali Khan was also convicted and sentenced for falsely stating that he was not a criminal on his application to become a naturalized US citizen, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

Prosecutors said Khan, a resident of Decatur in Georgia, and others illegaly imported

pills from China containing an active ingredient in Viagra and distributed them throughout the US, Patch news portal reported.

He was part of a criminal export ring that hatched an elaborate scheme to import to the US, male enhancement pills with names such as “Maxman,” “Happy Passengers” from China.

The ring’s plot included mislabelling scores of drugs to evade detection by the Food and Drug Administration and US Customs and Border Protection.

Khan’s sentence would be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the report.

“This defendant endangered the health of countless individuals by illegally importing and distributing drugs that can be obtained in the US only with a prescription written by a licensed, medical professional,” US Attorney John Horn said.

“What’s more, this defendant became a naturalized US citizen by giving a false statement to the government about his criminal history, while he was engaged in this illicit drug scheme.

“Khan’s willful criminal pursuit earned him more than a prison sentence. It cost him his citizenship and deportation after prison,” the attorney said.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Steve C. Jones ordered that Khan’s status as a naturalised US citizen be revoked and his certificate of naturalisation was declared void.

He also ordered that Khan be immediately deported to India once he completes his prison term. At that time, supervised release will not be enforced.

Khan filled out an application in 2013 to become a naturalized US citizen while the drug conspiracy was going on. He became a naturalized US citizen in March 2014.